1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus such as a mobile telephone, a PHS (personal handyphone system), a PDA (personal digital assistant), etc. loaded with a camera and a microphone.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a user who is taking a picture takes a moving picture using a mobile telephone, which is loaded with a camera and a microphone, capable of taking a moving picture while checking the picture on the display of the mobile telephone, the following process has been performed to realize capturing an image in front of the user, and capturing an image of the user himself, or herself or in other directions.
FIG. 1A shows an example (1) of the conventional mobile telephone. In FIG. 1A, a conventional mobile telephone 101 is loaded with a communications/sound collecting microphone 104 (a display 103 faces in the same direction), and one camera set in the same direction as the display 103 and one opposite to the display 103 (cameras 102a and 102b).
FIG. 1B shows an example (2) of the conventional mobile telephone (literature 1). In FIG. 1B, in addition to a communications microphone (not shown in the attached drawings), a module 105 in which a microphone and a camera are incorporated into one unit can be detached from the body of the mobile telephone 101.
FIG. 1C shows an example (3) of the conventional mobile telephone (literature 2). In FIG. 1C, the mobile telephone 101 is formed by an upper portion 101a, a middle portion 101b, and a lower portion 101c which are connected through coupling units 106a and 106b. A camera 102 is mounted on the side of the upper portion 101a, and the microphone 104 is mounted on the lower portion 101c. Since the coupling units 106a and 106b can be rotated, the directions of the camera 102 and the microphone 104 can be changed.
Literature 1 Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-53905                (pages 1 through 3, FIGS. 1 and 2)        
Literature 2 Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 10-313452                (pages 1 through 6, FIGS. 1 through 8)        
However, in FIG. 1A, when a moving picture is taken, the sensitivity of a microphone is constant regardless of which camera is to be used, the camera 102a of the camera 102b. Therefore, when a picture is taken using the camera 102b loaded in one direction while the microphone 104 is loaded in the opposite direction, the voice level is lower than the camera 102a loaded in the same direction as the microphone 104 although the distance between the mobile telephone 101 and the person whose image is captured is the same.
In FIG. 1B, for example, when the user who is taking a picture takes a picture of himself or herself while watching the display 103, the mobile telephone 101 and the camera unit 105 are to be held by the user, and inconveniently require both hands of the user.
Additionally, a camera having a built-in microphone is designed to fix the microphone and the camera in the same direction. Therefore, the sound can be collected only from the direction of the camera. For example, when the voice of the user who is taking a picture is collected while the user is taking a picture in the direction the user faces, the voice level is low for the above-mentioned reason.
Furthermore, in FIG. 1C, since the microphone 104 and the camera 102 are loaded on the different movable parts, they have to be independently adjusted in direction when the direction of a picture to be taken is changed, which causes inconvenience to the user.